Acute limb congestion (LC) increases the ventilatory response to static handgrip in normal volunteers. Previously we showed that LC augments the muscle sympathetic nerve response to handgrip by increasing muscle mechanoreceptor activity. In this study, we examine if LC during fatiguing handgrip at 35% maximal voluntary contraction would increase minute ventilation (v, l/min). LC is induced by 5 minutes of arm cuff occlusion at 90mmHg before handgrip (n=19). Forearm exercise increased v from 9.3+/- 0.32 to 11.3=/- 0.39 (p<0.05). During post handgrip circulatory arrest (PHG-CA) which selectively engages muscle metaboreceptors, v was still greater than baseline.